written November 10th, 2009 · 0 comments
I am finally posting my photographs from Preview Berlin, a very large art exhibition that was at the Tempelhof Airport over a month ago. There were many exciting pieces that even got my boyfriend excited:) Enjoy!
Posted in Art, Life in Berlin, My Photography
written November 9th, 2009 · 2 comments
I went to Potsdamer Platz (in Berlin) on Saturday with my boyfriend to see the dominoes that had been sent around Germany and the world to be painted by school children and others. We got there just as the sun was setting but I still managed to snap a lot of pictures thanks to the lights installed everywhere. It was packed with people and bustling with food stands everywhere and even Glühwein! I know, already! We had to drink one since we were slowly getting cold because we forgot hats and gloves. It had been so nice earlier in the day!
I just finished watching the whole fall of the wall ceremony on TV and got to see the dominoes knocked down by Lech Walesa, which fell among the crowds gathered in the center of Berlin. It was a nice ceremony with a lot of emphasis on taking note of all the walls that still exist in the world.
The dominoes were painted with many different themes. I photographed the ones that were visually compelling and had a good concept. There were so many that I liked! I didn’t get to see them all though. I got quite cold before I got to the end of the domino line and turned back. I hope you enjoy what I managed to capture.
Posted in Life in Berlin, My Photography
written November 6th, 2009 · 0 comments
Last Friday I was practicing my Pilates like a good and diligent teacher preparing for my first (German) Pilates class and my neck started giving me such pain! I guess my body just wasn’t warm enough or something or I was pushing myself to hard the week before. I have been trying to play catch up physically after 2 weeks on vacation in the US and 1 week of being sick. It’s tough! But anyhow, I am better now, and I am ready for my class tomorrow.
I have prepared a few changes to the class. I think the students are a lot fitter than I originally thought. So I’ve got to keep them interested! Teaching is so much fun! When I first stepped into the class last Tuesday I thought, oh man, this is going to be a long hour. But you get into it and it goes by so fast! I made a mixed CD for my class and I think I will feel more and more confident. Tomorrow I just need to get the heating right in the studio and I think I have it down pat!
One of the things I think I should really try and do is to make sure that the class knows they can ask me any questions afterward. When I first started taking Yoga I bombarded my teacher everyday after class with questions about the positions and what I am doing right/wrong. I get the feeling that people are mostly shy or are just not so curious, I don’t know. But I want to encourage them to get involved. It only improves your work.
I want to start tutoring some of my friends individually to work on my teaching skills and to be aware of what beginners are facing when they start Pilates. And then I think I will definitely be looking for a place to teach in English somewhere. Right now I am teaching 4 times a week, but it is temporary. When my teacher comes back, she gets all of her classes back, although there has been talk of me getting one of her classes if her schedule is too full. I think it is great to do it in both languages too. I don’t know what I was so afraid of with the whole German thing…it is no big deal to teach the class in German. But, as my boss once told me, we have different ways of speaking depending on the language we speak. It sounds odd, but so true. I think when I speak English I am more natural, relaxed and funny, but when I speak German I am a bit more serious because I am concentrating on the language.
Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates
written October 29th, 2009 · 0 comments
Yesterday I went to the Illustrative Berlin show with my friend and saw some great stuff! Here’s an overview of the artists who participated (although all are not listed).
The first artist that caught my eye was CIOU from France, I think (her website is biography-less). The pieces she exhibited were so finely painted, I had to view the paintings so close to see some of the finest lines. She paints fantastical female characters with a bit of a punk/death/dark side to them. The canvases were initially covered with collaged newspaper that was varnished with a brownish yellow color and then the characters were painted over that. There seemed to be so many layers and the detail was fascinating. Such gems! Check out some other work of hers (images from her website):
Posted in Art, Life in Berlin
written September 23rd, 2009 · 0 comments
I was at my yoga studio today and they asked me to fill in for my teacher on Sunday for 2 Pilates classes! Since I have only had a week to practice the series in German, they want me to do it in English, which is a huge relief! I will learn to teach it in German, I won’t cop out, I just need more time to internalize it! But it was funny because my teacher who was training me today said she likes the class better in English, it sounds more natural for her. Interesting! We’ll see how it goes on Sunday and if the public agrees. Hopefully my boyfriend doesn’t mind practicing with me this weekend…
Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates
written September 21st, 2009 · 0 comments
A couple weeks ago I went shopping for the first time in 7 months. I had to buy a dress for a wedding I am going to in 2 weeks. I only have summer dresses so buying something more appropriate was definitely in order. Of course, my first stop was H&M because of my budget. And lucky me, I found something! But the best part is I found something to wear with the purple heels that I have. Purple! Yes purple is still in…lucky me again. The dress is really cute. It’s very retro, 70’s, with an umpire waist and a wide ribbon that ties in back, a V-cut neckline (I have to wear a tank top under it for sure) and wide sleeves. The neckline, sleeve ends and ribbon are satin. It is very minimal yet dressy enough for the occasion. And it matches my shoes. And it was only 20 Euros:) Now I just need some jewelry. I will design a set of necklace, earrings and bracelet I think. I already have an idea already. I’ll post pics of my ensemble after the wedding! Can’t wait:)
Posted in Fashion, Life in Berlin
written September 17th, 2009 · 0 comments
As Fall comes creeping in I am forced to remember when I was back in school, high school really, when the beginning of the school year was so exciting! I remember going back to school shopping and getting a few new outfits for Fall that I would be so excited to wear to school. Picking out my outfit for the first day of school was the best. As if it would make a difference, it always gave me a sense of a new beginning. After all, a new grade back then meant new classes, potentially new friends. It was a big deal back then.
I have been reminiscing about the kind of clothes I used to buy back then too. I would shop at The GAP or some other real preppy stores, or should I say all American? You can’t find the kind of clothes I used to buy over here. Bulky sweaters, zip up sweatshirts, casual jeans…maybe at H&M, but that is as basic as you can get. The clothing here is so European. How can I describe it better? It is hard to find a normal pair of jeans without any kind of weird detailing, bleaching, stitching or patterns. Same goes with sweatshirts or sweaters. Everyone dresses a bit nicer here and therefore the simple casual clothes are hard to come by. Whenever I go home to the US, I love shopping at Old Navy. If not for the prices, it is for the casual fashion that is perfect for my style. Whenever I shop here, I end up buying dressier things I don’t wear very often.
I was thinking about Fall outfits and what my Fall outfit would be today if I was going back to school:) I don’t know if I’d be wearing these kinds of outfits exactly….but there are definitely a lot of different styles to choose from this year! There is this bulky, woolly, 70’s layered look, as well as a sleek leggings/skinny jean look with those ankle boots still in style. Here are some quick silly collages I created today. All H&M stuff.
Posted in Fashion Fall 2009, Life in Berlin
written September 17th, 2009 · 0 comments
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have begun to train as a substitution Pilates teacher. My teacher is going to do an Ashtanga Yoga training in Thailand for 5 weeks and I will be teaching for her in her absence. This means I’ve got to learn the series down pat and really get my body to memorize it. And then I’ve got to practice doing and speaking, all in German! This is actually not so bad really. I have been taking this class for a while now and I have grown used to how my teacher explains each movement to the class and which tips she gives. Next week I will try already to give the class to my teacher and a friend to see how it feels. My friend is a beginner Pilates student, so this will be interesting! I can really get some good feedback from her about how I am explaining the movements. So I’ve got to practice from now until then…a lot! Besides today, cause I am doing yoga, I’ll practice the series every day.
I always kind of knew this was part of my destiny. My roomate for the first 2 years of RISD was a former rhythmic gymnast and we used to do ballet and Pilates together. She went on to get herself certified and now teaches on her own. Now it’s my turn! Even though I do want to get certified soon, I think I may do it when I move to London next year (if I do, for my masters degree), because then I’ll be trained in English. Even though Joseph Pilates was German, my teacher tells me London will probably have better and more renown studios. So I guess it’s saving time!
Ahhhh…Pilates in German…
Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates
written September 16th, 2009 · 0 comments
So yesterday was a very exciting day! In the morning I was actually feeling a bit overwhelmed because I am juggling a few things on my plate right now. I am trying really hard to get my jewelry sold in a few shops in Berlin. My process for this includes walking around the city visiting shops to see if my jewelry will fit in and then usually calling back afterwards because the bosses aren’t there to make any decisions. I’ve also been trying to find some more markets to sell at, so I’ve been visiting them on the weekends. And then last week I was given an exciting offer to teach a Pilates class for 5 weeks while the regular teacher is at a training in Thailand. So I have to learn the class by heart and be able to teach it in German in 6 weeks! And then of course, there is my Etsy shop and my design work for my masters application portfolio, which has been a bit neglected lately. So many things.
Then I went to the yoga studio where I am working now in exchange for free classes and I was talking to the boss and he kind of mentioned that he might want me to teach some classes next year as the studio is expanding and doing really well. I am not getting too excited about it, but it would be a great experience! So that brought my spirits up. And then we had a huge attendance at our vinyasa class that day, when we normally have about 8 in a class. So that was fun and the energy in the class was great! So I really pushed myself and it felt good.
After yoga I went to the art store to buy some supplies for a display stand for my jewelry. A store in my area picked out about 20 pairs of earrings of mine to sell! Anyhow, they were having a 20% off sale a the art store. That made my day even better. I got some fun fluorescent paints and some wood beads to make a crazy huge statement necklace. A girl has got to do some experimental projects once and a while!
I got some paper for my stand and started building it when I got home. I had made a really rough prototype out of paper already, but it was looking seriously weak. So I decided I would attach the Ikea frames I had for selling at the market to the front of my paper constructions. Anyhow, I wanted to do a kind of step by step process for the making of this stand for my blog, but unfortunately I have no step by step process. It was very experimental and I just made the design decisions as I went along, solving problems one by one. So here are some images. This is my very first promotional/presentation stand for my first retailer in Berlin!
Posted in Life in Berlin, My Jewelry
My name is Ann, an American in Berlin!
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